GDC + VRDC 2019 Session Scheduler

View, browse and sort the ever-growing list of sessions by pass type, track, and format. With this Session Scheduler, you can build your schedule in advance and access it during the show via export or with the GDC Mobile App, once live. Sessions do fill up so please arrive early to sessions that you would like to attend. Adding a session to your schedule does not guarantee you a seat.

What Cats Can Teach You About Empathic Game Design

Empathic design allows you to experience what your end user experiences, and its application is growing in popularity. A user can only articulate so much, so spending a moment to understand them can vastly improve the quality of your games. Who better to teach you that ability other than the humble house cat?

Making games for cats is extremely challenging. They cannot communicate, and most of the time will want nothing to do with whatever you need them to do. But it turns out that, just like any human user, you can put yourself in their shoes, or paws, if you will. Cats have a few quirks that once understood, can be overcome to make engaging experiences for an animal that would otherwise not care.

Takeaway

Attendees of this lecture will come away with an understanding of the value of empathic design, the steps to applying it, how to apply it in the context of game development, and how to make it work in the most difficult of circumstances.

Intended Audience

This talk is targeted at game designers and those who think about the user facing aspects of game development. Both professional and indie gamers can learn something from cats.